Users plead for water rethink

Releases increased from 1.8 gigalitres a day to about 6.5gL/day on Friday and remained at that rate until today (Thursday), when they were reduced to 5gL/day.

The MDBA says it will remain at this rate until “more information becomes available”.

This is despite strong objection from local landholders, who met with the MDBA and NSW government representatives last week.

NSW South West Water Users Association spokesperson Alan Whyte said many Lower Darling and River Murray landholders were concerned the drawdown had the potential to again threaten the water security of the rivers downstream of the lakes.

“It has barely been six months since we had zero water in the Lower Darling River and we’re back to debating water security,” he said.

“Today’s operating practices draw more water from the Menindee Lakes Scheme, increasing the periods where there is no flow in the river downstream.

“This isn’t good for the environment, it is a disaster for stock and domestic users and makes the irrigation of established, high-value crops increasingly unviable.”

The recent no-flow event was the third in the past 13 years, which Mr Whyte, who irrigates on the Lower Darling, said was caused by MDBA changes to the operating rules for the Menindee Lakes.

“Prior to 2003, the river had continuous flow since 1943,” he said. 

Mr Whyte said the group was pushing for a review of the rules, some of which were no longer relevant, and requested the MDBA construct a release strategy that would maintain at least 400gL in the top two lakes of the system – Lake Pamamaroo and Lake Wetherell – to ensure water supply security for Far West NSW users. 

MDBA river management head David Dreverman said the water was needed to meet demands in the River Murray, downstream of Wentworth, NSW.

“The Murray floods have passed through the system and river levels have dropped quickly, while irrigation demand has picked up,” he said.

Mr Dreverman said high evaporation losses from the Menindee Lakes meant the storages were used ahead of others, such as Hume and Dartmouth dams.

“Menindee Lakes releases in summer and autumn will enable hundreds of gigalitres of water to be reserved in Dartmouth Dam for use by the whole Murray Valley in future years,” he said.

“Safeguards are built into the water sharing arrangements so that the use of the Menindee Lakes is limited to protect local NSW town water supplies and Lower Darling use once lake volumes fall below 480gL.

“Changing the rules would need unanimous agreement of the Commonwealth, NSW, Vic and SA governments.”

Mr Whyte said the biggest disappointment at the meeting was the MDBA’s “complete lack of interest in doing anything differently and learn from what didn’t work in the past”.

“We will continue to push for discussion about other options, lobby for better water security and hope they learn from past mistakes.”